The New Neighbours
by Potgenie
Summary: AU: The new neighbours were rude, arrogant, and impossibly unpleasant. They were just HELL to live next to. How could it be, then, that their son looked so drop-dead gorgeous? ON HIATUS.
1. One

**I got the idea for this story yesterday, when I was thinking about my own neighbours (they're not very nice). I really shouldn't be starting a new story now, what with school and life in general – besides, I wanted to finish ****Wish In A Bottle**** first, and I've got **_**another **_**story I plan to write... but anyway, I couldn't resist! So here goes – hope you guys will like it!**

**By the way, in this story, Hikari and her friends are fifteen, while Taichi is eighteen.**

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The New Neighbours  
Chapter One

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Having an older brother is great, especially if you've got one like mine. Taichi doesn't find me a bother, is fiercely protective, and we're close enough to share secrets. Having a good older brother also means that he covers up for you often, so you hardly get into trouble because _he's _taking the blow for you.

However, one thing can be annoying. We share a room – a fact that my friends always like to comment about, seeing how I'm already fifteen and it's the norm for siblings of opposite genders to have their own room each. We've been sharing a room since we were in diapers and I guess the tradition just stuck. The only difference now is that I've got a curtain draped across my bunk, so that I've got privacy when I sleep.

Anyway, I'm digressing – how could sharing a room be annoying? Well – it's annoying when you've had a late night up, rushing a school project, and you want to sleep in the next day because it's a Saturday. But for some reason, your room-sharer just won't let you.

"Let me _sleep, _Taichi," I groaned, rolling over to avoid my brother's gigantic foot. Undaunted, he shook me harder. For the past ten minutes, he had been shaking me with his stinky feet, trying to wake me up.

"C'mon, Hika!" Taichi said impatiently. (By the way, my real name is Hikari. Hika is a nickname that all my friends call me by.) "There's something I've got to tell you! Wake up!"

I sighed and gave up. Taichi could be very stubborn, and I knew he wasn't going to let me off anytime soon. I sat up, pushing his foot away. I couldn't help smirking when he stumbled clumsily, banging his head (or rather, his big mop of hair) on the ladder of the bunk bed.

"It's only eight-thirty," I grumbled, looking at my alarm clock. "I stayed up till two rushing a project with Takeru! I need my sleep!"

Taichi shook his head. "You won't be sleepy for much longer once you hear the news! Go and wash up and I'll tell you. Anyway, I don't understand why you guys were rushing a project on a Friday when you've got the entire weekend for it."

I stared at him. "Firstly, as I've told you, Takeru's visiting his grandmother this weekend so he won't be free. Secondly, you're not going to tell me _now_?"

Taichi laughed. "You should be fully awake when you hear this."

I sighed in exasperation. I had wanted to go back to sleep after Taichi's supposedly "breaking news". Usually, the "important" things that he wanted to tell me turned out to be pretty trivial. I crawled out of bed and headed to our adjoining bathroom.

I washed up and brushed my teeth quickly, then examined myself in the mirror. Boy, I hated my hair. It was thin and straight and mouse-brown. I envied people like my senior, Mimi, who had thick, wavy hair that seemed to shine. The only good thing about my hair was that it was so thin, it rarely got tangled up and you hardly have to brush it. I ran my brush through my hair a few times, put on my starfish-shaped hairclip, and exited the bathroom.

"Finally!" Taichi exclaimed.

"Alright, Taichi," I said, sitting down on my bed. "_Now _you can tell me what your so-called important news is."

Taichi took a deep breath. I waited. He grinned.

"Our new neighbours are here!" He said.

"New neighbours? Oh..." Realization dawned on me as I remembered. A week ago, our neighbour, old Mr. and Mrs. Kouzuki, had moved out to live somewhere nearer to their children. They were such sweet people that we were all sad to see them go. As a kid, Mrs. Kouzuki sometimes helped to look after me when I fell sick, or babysit me and Taichi when our parents both had to go somewhere. She baked the most amazing chocolate chip cookies, and Mr. Kouzuki, who once worked as a carpenter, had helped to build this amazing shoe cabinet for us. So, yeah – we were all pretty upset to see them go, and had thrown them a huge farewell party.

We had no idea who our new neighbours would be – all the Kouzukis had said was that they were a family with one kid, but they couldn't remember their surname. They would be moving in a week after they left, and I guess today was the day – I must have forgotten.

It was interesting news, but not interesting enough to reason why I had to wake up so early for it. "You woke me up to tell me this?" I asked, pretending to look cross. "I guess it's pretty big news, but it wouldn't have mattered if you tell me this a few hours later."

"I haven't reached the important part yet," Taichi said quickly. He leaned closer to me, looking excited. "The new neighbours – their son – I _know _him. And I'm sure you do, too."

I blinked. "I do? Who is it?"

"He's only one of the best soccer player in the Under-Sixteen category in Japan!" Taichi exclaimed. "He used to be from Tamaichi Junior High, and he was the reason their school always won every inter-school match. He's this huge genius too – always top in school, always making the news for some record he broke. Oh, and recently he was in the news for beating a whole bunch of Chess Champions in one go."

I bit my lip, thinking. The last bit sounded familiar – I remembered talking about it with my friends. My best friend, Miyako, knew quite a bit about chess and had been marvelling about this kid's skills. "Wow, he's going to be our neighbour? I must've seen his name on the news, but I can't really remember."

"He's called Ichijouji Ken, and he's your age," Taichi told me, "And the best thing is, he's transferring to _your _school!"

I knew at once why Taichi was so excited. Taichi had graduated from Junior High and was now in his final year of High School. However, he regularly came back to my school to coach the Soccer Team. My other friend, Daisuke, was in the team too, and he was pretty good. However, we've been on a losing streak recently, and Taichi had been pretty frustrated by that. He must be hoping that Ichijouji Ken would join the soccer team – Odaiba Junior High's team would be sure to win every single match then!

"Don't get your hopes up," I told Taichi, "you don't know if he'll join the team here."

"Why wouldn't he?" Taichi asked. I left the room, wanting to get some breakfast, and Taichi followed. "He was in the soccer team all his life. Surely he'd stick to something he's good at."

"Maybe he wants a change." I said.

"Like Photography Club, huh?" Taichi asked, smiling slightly. I was in the school's Photography Club, and as Project Director I often organized field trips to places like Nature Reserves, where we could all have hours of joy snapping away. Taichi never understood how that could be fun.

I ignored him. "Morning Mum, Morning, Dad!" I said cheerily to my parents, who were both sitting by the dining table. I sat down, grabbed a piece of toast, and began buttering it.

"Morning, Hikari!" Mum smiled at me. "You're up early today. I thought you'd sleep in, after staying up so late for that project."

"Yeah, I wanted to," I shot Taichi a death glare. "But Taichi woke me up to tell me about the _new neighbour_."

"Oh, yes," Inexplicably, my mum's smile faded slightly. "The Ichijoujis just moved in about an hour ago. I saw them on my way back from the market."

"How were they like?" Taichi asked.

Mum looked hesitant. I knew something was up, but my mother never liked talking bad about other people. Dad jumped in instead.

"Let's just say they were – well, not very polite to your mother," he supplied. "She tried to talk to them, but they were really eager to end the conversation. And they practically slammed the door in her face."

I blinked, surprised. I remembered when Ichijouji Ken had been interviewed – his parents had been interviewed too, and they had looked pretty friendly. I guess you should never judge a book by its cover.

"Did you see their son, Mum?" Taichi asked, gulping down his orange juice.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Mum said, nodding. "He's a pretty good-looking young man, though his hair's a bit too long for my liking. It looks like yours, Hikari!" She nodded in my direction.

Taichi burst out laughing and I couldn't help turning red. "It looks good on you, dear," My mum continued, "But on a kid like him – if I were his mother, I would never approve."

"Well, seeing how he's top in sports, academics AND recreational activities, I don't think his parents would mind giving him a bit of freedom when it comes to growing out his hair," Taichi grinned.

"I suppose," Mum said, chuckling. "I wonder why they were so rude, though?" She looked thoughtful. "I don't think I said anything wrong, did I?"

"Of course you didn't," I told her reassuringly. "Maybe they didn't mean it – perhaps they were just in a rush to sort everything out? Anyway, we'll find out soon enough."

So – we actually had a family of near-famous people living next to us! From what Mum had described, they didn't sound all too pleasant... but I was intrigued, anyhow. I made up my mind to say hi to them soon, to welcome them to our neighbourhood. They might be impolite, but it was only the right thing to do. After all, Ichijouji Ken was going to be my fellow schoolmate – maybe even classmate! Who knew?

**TBC**

**So! How do you guys find this introductory chapter? Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Two

**Yay! Fast update! :) I've got a busy week coming ahead. It's supposed to be holidays, but there's so much to do it's not going to be a holiday at all. So, while I still can, here is the next chapter... but first, review replies!**

**ARCtheElite: **Let's just say... I'm not too fond of it. :/ It doesn't look all that bad on her, honestly, but when you compare it with Ken's, the similarity is uncanny.

**KoumiLoccness: **I don't mean to be rude, but it was a little bit of a disappointment to get a review from you, because of two reasons: one – it didn't make sense, and two – it was of no means constructive. Couplings are not always the most important things in stories, you know.

**PrincessJaded: **Hello! Yup, I thought it'd be fun writing a coupling that is different from the ones that I like! And as for Taichi... he's a pretty cool brother, but to some extent all brothers (older or younger) are gonna be annoying :)

**Blazing Chaos: **Thanks for the faith! Haha. I hope I live up to your expectations. My stories always tend to be a bit "unsteady" when I first start on them!

**Dracula-key: ***points to the main characters that I have put for this story* Yup, this one is a Kenkari. Thanks for the review!

Also thanks to **KOI Seracus **for your lurvely review!

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The New Neighbours  
Chapter Two

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I didn't manage to see any of the Ichijoujis for the whole of Saturday. Miyako called me up to go shopping together and so I did. I walked past their door on the way out, but it was closed. By the time I returned home it was past dinnertime, and yeah, you guessed it – their door was still closed. It seemed pretty quiet in there. Usually it's not difficult to tell if anyone's home in our house, because there's usually quite a bit of noise going on in there. I assumed that they probably weren't home.

I had a nice sleep all night and woke up refreshed on Sunday morning – nobody to bother me this time, Hooray! The delicious smell of apple pie baking made me sit up. Mum rarely baked, but whenever she did the results were marvellous. I washed up quickly and hurried into the kitchen, trying to remember if we had any vanilla ice-cream in the freezer. Warm apple pie and cold, sweet vanilla ice-cream! Just thinking about this perfect combination made my stomach rumble.

Taichi was already up. He was sitting by the table, looking a little grumpy. Dad was probably still asleep – he always slept in on Sundays.

"Something smells really good!" I said happily, walking over to the oven and peering in. A beautiful-looking apple pie was baking inside. "Looks like we're going to have a great tea today!"

"It isn't for us," Taichi said, sounding grumpier than ever. I turned to look at him, surprised.

"It isn't?" I glanced at Mum, who nodded guiltily. I blinked in surprise. "Then who're you baking this for?"

Mum smiled a little at me. "I'm planning to give this to the Ichijoujis as a welcome gift," she explained. "We may have gotten off on a wrong start yesterday, but I want to be on good terms with our neighbours! Hopefully this will bury the hatchet."

This was just like Mum – always so concerned about being nice to everyone, and always making amends even though the fault wasn't hers! I was a little (okay, make that quite a bit) disappointed that the apple pie wasn't for us, but I respected Mum's desire to reach out to others. "Just remember to bake one for us next time," I said, grinning at her.

"Fancy wasting that apple pie on someone who was so mean to you!" Taichi said, still looking a little cross. My brother is always so sensitive when it comes to good food.

"Taichi, don't be so petty!" I said, shaking my head at him. "It's only an apple pie." An idea suddenly came to my head, and I turned back to my mother. "Hey, Mum, do you want us to help you bring the apple pie to them? I want to see how they're like and now would be a good chance to find out."

Mum thought for a moment. "That's a good idea. You two are the only ones who haven't met them anyway, and I'm going to be busy with chores today. Oh, you could help me run some errands after that too! We've run out of washing powder."

"Great! Just as long as Taichi doesn't gobble up the entire thing on the way there," I teased. Taichi pretended to throw the salt-shaker at me, and I laughed.

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I spent the morning lazing around the house – checking my email, playing with my now-elderly cat, and reading the newspapers. After lunch, Mum put the apple pie carefully in a nice cardboard box and handed it to me.

"I should think they're home," she told me and Taichi as she helped us to unlock the front door. "Be polite when talking to them, alright? Have a nice time!"

"No problem!" Both of us chorused. The Ichijoujis were right next door to us, and it would be an extremely short walk to their house. Making sure not to tilt the box, I slipped into my flip-flops and walked over to their house, my brother right behind me. Behind us, I heard Mum shut the door with a gentle _click_.

"I still think it's rather a waste," Taichi whispered to me, eyeing the box.

"Shhh," I hissed at him, "we're reaching already!"

I could hear the sounds of a television programme from inside their house, so that meant that someone had to be home. I reached over to the doorbell and pressed it. A pleasant, short melody rang out.

"Nice," Taichi said. "I wish our doorbell was like that, instead of that stupid clucking noise we've got." Dad had installed our joke-of-a-doorbell on a whim years ago, when the one before that spoilt. When you press it, the sound of a hen clucking away merrily fills the air. It's really loud, too.

"At least it makes for a good conversation starter," I replied, smiling slightly. Taichi and I loved to press it just for fun when it was first installed, and it drove our parents nuts. "Why isn't anybody answering?" I wondered. "Someone has to be at home. I can hear the TV."

"Maybe they're in the toilet or something," Taichi suggested reasonably. "Let's give them a little time."

So we waited. Two minutes later, I couldn't help but ring the doorbell again – a final attempt, and then we would leave if nobody answered a second time round. Half a minute passed and I was tempted to give up when I heard footsteps.

The door flung open and a middle-aged woman with chin-length, curly brown hair stood in front of us. She was wearing a simple blue dress and looked as elegant as I remembered from her interview on the news. It was Mrs. Ichijouji! I couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by her expression, though – it was one of utmost annoyance. I couldn't see properly, because she was behind the gate – but it looked as though her eyes were a little red, as though she had been crying. Or chopping onions, perhaps – for I suddenly noticed a damp tablecloth in her hands. Oops. Had we visited at a bad time?

"Hello, Mrs. Ichijouji!" I smiled at her and bowed slightly. "I'm Yagami Hikari and this is my older brother, Taichi." I gestured at Taichi and he waved, smiling friendlily at her. "We're your new neighbours and we would like to welcome you to our neighbourhood!" I lifted up the cardboard box, trying to ignore the fact that throughout my whole speech, she hadn't cracked a smile. "My mum baked this for you guys. It's an apple pie, still warm!"

That was a few seconds' silence. Mrs. Ichijouji's expression was unreadable. After another slight pause, she said, "I'll go and get my keys." Then, she hurried off.

Taichi and I exchanged looks. _"That's weird," _He mouthed, and I nodded.

Mrs. Ichijouji came back quite a bit later. She wasn't holding the cloth anymore, and I wondered why she looked noticeably paler – why, her lips were much redder just now! Then it hit me – she must have been wearing makeup, and had gone to wash her face in the time she had gone to take the keys. Two thoughts struck me simultaneously – why was she wearing makeup at home? And secondly, what was the point of washing it off just when people were visiting?

Mrs. Ichijouji unlocked the gate briskly. "Come on in," she said, still without a trace of a smile. Telling myself that she was probably just uncomfortable or feeling a bit shy, I smiled and thanked her, and we entered.

The Ichijoujis' apartment was of similar construct to ours. Even though they had only just moved in yesterday, it looked as though they had already settled in well – there were no signs of unopened boxes anywhere, and furniture was already nicely laid out. The living room was comfortable-looking and clean, with a huge plasma television, cream-coloured leather couches, and an oak bookshelf stacked top to toe with books. There was also a grandfather clock – it looked like an antique and must have been expensive. I thought, a little embarrassedly, of our own house – we kept it as clean as possible, but it was no match compared to this.

"Er, have a seat," Mrs. Ichijouji gestured toward the couches, and we sat down on it. That was when I noticed a photograph frame on the coffee table – it held a picture of a teenage boy, dressed smartly in a suit. He had spiky, dark blue hair and smart-looking glasses. Was that Ken? I didn't like to ask, not wanting to seem nosey.

Mrs. Ichijouji had seen me looking, though, and she swept over quickly, grabbing the photograph and putting it away. I stared in surprise. She was frowning slightly at me and I felt my face growing red. Taichi looked at us and spoke quickly.

"Hey Hikari, why are you still holding the apple pie?" He laughed and took the box from me, handing it to Mrs. Ichijouji. "Here, Mrs. Ichijouji. Just a little gift from us."

"Thank you," she said stiffly, taking the box from Taichi. She put it on the table and then turned back to us. I noticed her quick glance at Taichi's bushy, flyaway hair, and the look of disapproval that flashed across her face. I felt a spark of annoyance inside me – who was she to judge my brother just because he had messy hair?

"So..." I wondered if Mrs. Ichijouji was eager for us to leave, but simply had to entertain us for politeness' sake, seeing how we had just given her a present. "How is this neighbourhood like? Are you two in Odaiba Junior High?"

"I'm in Junior High," I replied as cheerfully as possible. "Taichi's already in High School. He's going to be graduating soon!"

"I see," Mrs. Ichijouji said, nodding. "That's nice." Looking at me, she continued, "If you don't mind me asking, what is Odaiba Junior High like? You see, my son – Ken – he thrives best in a competitive environment, and I've heard that Odaiba Junior is just a normal school. I wonder if it would be suitable for him?"

I felt a sudden urge to speak up for my "just a normal" school. "Oh, it's really fun there actually," I told her. The frown that crossed her face told me that maybe "fun" wasn't the best word to use. "Our teachers are really helpful and friendly, and we have a wide range of extracurricular activities. I'm sure Ken will like it here."

"I've heard that Ken is an excellent soccer player," Taichi supplied eagerly, "Perhaps he could join the Soccer Team. I'm helping to coach it and it would really do the team good to have some fresh talent."

"You're coaching the team?" Mrs. Ichijouji asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Helping to coach," Taichi said, looking a little embarrassed. "I used to be Captain before I graduated."

"Captain?" Mrs. Ichijouji looked surprised – too surprised for my liking. "Well, it looks like Ken will hardly have a problem getting into the team, then."

Maybe Mrs. Ichijouji was just a tactless person – I don't know if you could call her mean, because a truly mean person would have just accepted (or even worse, rejected) our gift without thanks, and not bother to invite us in. But that comment was just plain _rude_, and from her expression it was apparent that she hadn't even realised it. I saw Taichi's face fall slightly and felt another spark of annoyance.

"Taichi's a _fantastic_ soccer player," I told her, "He holds the record for shooting the most goals in the team so far!"

"That's really sweet," Mrs. Ichijouji said, actually managing a smile. "Ken's excellent at soccer too. His old coach has told him that if he continues, he could probably join the National team when he's old enough. _And _he was Captain of his old team as well."

"Where's Ken?" I asked, deciding to change the subject. "It'd be nice to meet him. Is he home?"

Mrs. Ichijouji let out a tinkle-like chuckle. It was light, like a bell, and sounded strangely unsuitable for her. "Oh, I'm afraid not," she told us. "He's out, giving Science tuition to a seventh grader."

"Wow!" I exclaimed, impressed. Since he was my age, Ken must also be in the ninth grade, which was only two grades above his tutee. He must be really smart.

"Sounds like a real genius!" Taichi commented.

Mrs. Ichijouji looked pleased at that. "Are you hungry?" She asked. "I'll just cut the apple pie, and you two can have a slice each."

She got up and went into the kitchen. Surprised at this sudden change in attitude, I looked at Taichi, who simply shrugged.

Mrs. Ichijouji returned five minutes later, balancing three plates on a tray. She handed us a plate each, then sat down and picked up the last one for herself.

I took a bite of the pie. Wow – it was _good_. The pie was still warm from the oven, and my Mum had somehow managed to, on her first attempt, perfect the buttery crust and the moist, juicy apple filling. "This is delicious!" I said, and Taichi grinned his approval.

Mrs. Ichijouji took a small bite and chewed, looking thoughtful. "It's alright," she said slowly, swallowing. "There are quite some flaws with the baking technique, though. I used to win baking competitions all the time in the Tamaichi Baking Club," she told us. "I could offer your mother a few pointers."

For the third time, I felt another spark of annoyance. My mum had spent so much time baking the pie for her – why was Mrs. Ichijouji so darned _picky_? It was as though she just had to make herself sound better than us in every aspect!

Wanting to be polite, I kept silent. Taichi, who was always the outspoken type, look rather annoyed. "I think Mum's pie is very good already, Mrs. Ichijouji," he said.

Mrs. Ichijouji looked at him and smiled almost pityingly. "It may seem tasty, but the discerning palate can taste the flaws. Believe me, this pie will not sell well in a bakery unless some improvements are done to it."

Taichi looked as though he was struggling not to roll his eyes.

"Er – I love your furniture, Mrs. Ichijouji," I said, making a last attempt to be polite. Anyway, I _was _telling the truth. I did think her furniture were all very nice.

"Oh yes," Mrs. Ichijouji said, sitting up. "Most of our furniture are bought overseas whenever we go holidaying, which is about twice a year at least. I believe that every house must have good-quality furniture – otherwise, what would your guests think? Imagine buying your sofa from one of those neighbourhood furniture shops – who knows what has been done with the furniture beforehand!"

There was a short silence. Then Taichi said, as calmly as he could, "Most of our furniture are from those shops. And they're perfectly durable."

Mrs. Ichijouji's smile was a little patronizing. "I never did say they're not durable, my dear. I just meant that they're not as... clean, or pleasant on the eye."

"Yeah, right." Taichi made a show of checking his watch – I knew he wanted to leave. "We had better go, Hikari. We still have to help Mum run errands, you know."

"Don't you have a maid for that?" Mrs. Ichijouji looked incredulously oblivious. "We have a daily help to do all these for us. I can't imagine going outside in this hot weather!"

"Yeah, we do have maids – us," Taichi said coolly, gesturing to himself and to me. Mrs. Ichijouji looked surprised and also a little offended at his tone. Standing up abruptly, she walked over to the door and opened it.

"Well, have a pleasant day, then," she said, reverting, all of a sudden, back to her cold and aloof self.

"Thanks for entertaining us," I said, bowing slightly.

"Goodbye," Taichi added.

We walked toward the elevator as the door closed behind us.

"You don't seem to like her very much," I said quietly.

"Did _you_?" Taichi returned, looking at me.

"Well... not really," I said. "But at least she's not mean, like how she was yesterday."

"Yes, I agree that she's not mean," Taichi agreed, stepping into the elevator. "But I think that she's a snobbish, elitist prude. And that's bad enough for me."

I followed him in, feeling a little upset. Taichi was right. Mrs. Ichijouji was unpleasant in a different way, and I didn't have a very good feeling about the rest of the Ichijouijs now. I was beginning to miss old Mr. and Mrs. Kouzuki all over again.

**TBC**

**In the dub, Mrs. Yagami somehow has horrible cooking skills, but I'm going to go with the original. :) Please review!**


	3. Three

**Finally! An update! :) Not a very long one, but it does set the plot moving a little. Ken is introduced! But first, review replies!**

**ArctheElite: **Thanks! I hope that my version of Mrs. Ichijouji, while unpleasant, doesn't come off as a one-dimensional cardboard character. I don't much like the original Mrs. Ichijouji, but she _is _a bit too nice, I think!

The romance will take a while, to be honest. As for the humour... I suppose I made the mistake of not coming up with a concrete idea for this story, and now while I do know where this is going to go I'm not too sure if humour is going to be part of the genre anymore. So I'm removing that for now. Sorry, and thanks for reviewing!

**dracula-key: **Hmmmm! Thanks for the review!

**SugarSpiral: **Yup, I can't stand the idea of Hikari as a weakling/sappy Takeru lover etc. About the Oniisan thing, oops! I'm bad with names. As I'm a little lazy, I think I'll just change my previous "Onii-sans" to English and keep it as that. Thanks for pointing that out!

As for the apartment thing... I live in an apartment as well, so I'm kind of basing their apartment off mine. There's this gate outside the door (very different from those house gates – this is just something like a second door) so that's what I meant, really. ^__^ Hope that clears things up!

**KOI Seracus: **Yay! Love the exclamation points! Thanks!!

**Bridgette Barrymore: **Thanks! :) I like Kenkari, too!

**On with the chapter now!**

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The New Neighbours  
Chapter Three

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"Good morning class!" My form teacher, Mr. Fujiyama, chirped happily. We chanted back our usual zombie-like reply and he beamed in response. He was oblivious like that... that was why we all loved him so much.

"Before we start, I'd like to welcome a new student to our class," he continued cheerfully. My seat partner, Takeru, glanced curiously at me and I returned the look. I could hear the rest of the class whispering excitedly about the sudden announcement – Takeru had transferred in late back in Elementary School, but it was pretty rare to have transfer cases in Junior High. Mr. Fujiyama, being his usual self, noticed nothing and went on talking.

"Let's all put our hands together to welcome Ichijouji Ken!"

I felt ridiculous as the class started clapping rather lukewarmly. What was this, a show? But... wait a minute! Did he just say _Ichijouji Ken?_

"Isn't that your new neighbour, Hika?" Takeru said, echoing my thoughts.

"Yeah!" I replied, craning my neck to get a good look (we sat at the back, and being rather short, I get blocked pretty often in class). I hadn't gotten a chance to meet him over the weekend – I had only met his mother. Finally, I could see for myself who my neighbour was... and what a coincidence – he was in my class, too!

As Ichijouji Ken stepped into the room, I swore that the only sound that could be heard was the swooning of every single female in the class.

From the interviews and newspaper articles of this famous genius, I knew that Ken wasn't a bad looking person. But, _wow _– he looked even better in real life. And I mean it when I say _better_. He was tall and lean, but not too skinny. His hair was fashionably long, but unlike so many of those wannabes, it actually looked good on him. His hair was raven, almost black. Dyed hair wasn't new to me – after all, my best friend's hair was lavender! But the colour fit him really well.

And oh, those eyes! They were a startling shade of blue, almost purple (I had never seen such a shade before), and they had the most piercing gaze. Not to mention that he actually looked good in our spinach green uniform, his tanned skin tone matching the –

"Hika? Earth to Hikari!"

I jumped and saw Takeru waving a hand in my face, smirking. I felt my face flush red – from Takeru's smirk, I was sure that he knew where my thoughts had been for the past minute. Sometimes having a friend who knows you so well can be pretty annoying.

"Hi, I'm Ichijouji Ken," Ken began, and one of the girls sitting in the front actually let out a squeal of joy. He ignored that and went on speaking. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Ken!" Yuki, the class flirt, called from her seat. The class chuckled nervously and Mr. Fujiyama cleared his throat.

"Why don't you sit over there, Ichijouji?" He pointed to a vacant seat that was in front of me. Great – as if I didn't have a hard enough time craning my neck! Still, having the back of that gorgeous head to admire didn't seem too bad an idea...

What was I doing?? Stop this senseless behaviour, Hikari! I shook myself, surprised at my own thoughts. I hardly ever ogled at guys in this manner. What had happened to the calm and collected Hikari, the Hikari who never lost her senses over a mere boy?

But then, it was probably because I had never seen someone as good looking as Ken up close before...

Oh, God. Hikari, _stop._

* * *

The recess bell rang and a whole gaggle of my classmates gathered around Ken's desk at once, eager to talk to him. His replies were polite and friendly, but he didn't sound all that interested, really.

"Shall we go eat?" My other good friend, Daisuke, walked over to our tables. "I'm starving!"

"Me too," Takeru said, standing up. He glanced over at Ken, who had managed to fend off the last eager beaver and was now writing something in his organizer. "Hey, Ken," he called, ever the nice guy, "Want to join us for lunch?"

Ken glance at us and blinked, looking a little surprised. A few seconds of awkward silence passed as he seemed to contemplate this, and then he broke into a tiny smile. "That'd be nice," he said politely.

* * *

"So, I'm Yagami Hikari," I told Ken in between bites of my chicken sandwich. "This is so coincidental – I'm your new neighbour too!"

Ken looked mildly interested. He was only eating a tuna sandwich, which was far lesser than the amount that Takeru and Daisuke were eating and even lesser than what Miyako and I were eating! (We had mango pudding, too.) "The Yagamis, right?" He said. "I didn't get to meet you guys over the weekend because I was busy. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," I replied, a bit uncertain about how to respond to his over-politeness. He was far nicer and friendlier than his mother, I had to give him that – but he was so very polite about everything that it was quite hard to continue a conversation with him. He was probably just nervous about his first day of school – I would be too if I were in his shoes.

"So, Ken," Daisuke said as he swallowed a huge bite of hotdog, "Are you planning to join the Soccer Team? You'd be great here!"

"No, I don't think so," Ken said so quickly that Daisuke looked rather startled. "I mean," he continued, seeing Dai's expression, "I've been in soccer all my life and I'd like a change of activities."

To say that Daisuke looked dismayed was an understatement. "But you're one of the best soccer players around! Our team would be on top if you join us!"

"I'm really sorry, but I don't think so," Ken replied more firmly. "I'd like to explore other interests."

"That reminds me - my brother and I talked to your Mum the other day," I chimed in. "She said that you're really good at soccer, Ken!"

"She did?" Ken looked up from his bread. "That's nice, I guess. When did you guys talk to her?"

"On Sunday afternoon," I said. "You had tutoring, that was why –"

"Sunday afternoon?" Ken interrupted immediately, staring at me. Within seconds, with those words I had uttered, his demeanour had changed. His expression was startlingly different from his previous calm one – I couldn't quite describe it, but he certainly looked more unruffled and disconcerted.

"Um. Yeah," I nodded uncertainly.

"And I had tutoring?"

"That was what your Mum said..."

"Dude, are you okay?" Daisuke asked, staring at him.

"Please excuse me," Ken stood up abruptly, hastily grabbing his belongings as he did so. "I just remembered... I have something on."

He had something on? On his first day of school? I could see through his lie at once, and I could tell from my friends' expressions that they thought the same. He was upset over what I had said. But why?

"Ken..." Miyako said gently as he dropped his sandwich by accident. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied quickly, flashing one of his reserved but oh-so-hot smiles at us. "I just have to go off now." And with that, he was gone, practically running off in the direction of the bathroom.

We blinked at each other. "What was that all about?" Takeru wondered aloud.

* * *

"Ken?"

I had been mulling over what had happened during break as I walked home from school. Was it something that I said that had set Ken off? All I had said was that his Mum said that he was good at soccer, and that he was at tutoring on Sunday... what was wrong with that? It was at that moment that I caught sight of him a little way in front of me, strolling at a leisurely pace. He must be going home, too.

He turned at the sound of his name and I hurried over, smiling at him. "Hey," I greeted, and he nodded in response. "Are you going home too?"

"Yeah," he said monosyllabically.

"Great. Me too!"

We walked for a little while in silence. Unable to take it anymore, I finally spoke again.

"Are you really alright, Ken? About what happened just now... if it was something I said..."

"No, it's okay," he replied at once, rather shortly, I thought. "I'm alright. I just had something on, like I said."

"What did you have on?" I asked, out of both curiosity and suspicion.

Ken hesitated. I watched him. "Um, I wanted to go and check out the after-school activities."

"During breaktime? Where could you possibly check them out?"

I sounded like I was prying and I knew it. Ken looked up and shot me a look that was none too pleasant. For a rather scary minute, I was reminded vividly of his mother.

"It's really none of your business," he said crisply.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, slightly abashed.

"Ken, dear!"

I recognized the familiar voice at once, even though I had only heard it for the first time yesterday. It was the unmistakable voice of Mrs. Ichijouji. There was no missing her demure tone, with the same note of impeccable politeness as her son's.

I turned and saw her hurrying over, waving daintily as she did so. She was dressed well, as usual – in a sundress that seemed a little too young for her, and white peep-toe heels. "Hello, Mrs. Ichijouji," I said politely as she neared.

"Oh, hello, Hikari!" She smiled at me friendlily. I was a little surprised – the memory of yesterday still stood out rather vividly in my mind.

"I was just on my way back from the mall, my dear, and I saw you around the corner," Mrs. Ichijouji said happily, turning to Ken. "I must say, the mall is a little too small for my liking. How I miss the old French restaurant in Tamaichi! But anyway, enough about me! How was school, my dear?"

Ken threw his mother a scathing look that frankly, threw me off as well. "Whatever, Mum," he snapped, before stalking off.

I stared at his retreating figure, shocked. Ken had been so polite for the entire schoolday, yet what he had just said to his mother... I couldn't help feeling sorry for Mrs. Ichijouji despite yesterday's encounter with her. She looked stricken, her eyes filled with so much hurt and dismay that I felt my heart go out to her. "Mrs. Ichijouji, I..."

"Please – leave me alone." Her voice was hard despite the emotion in her eyes, and beneath the hurt and dismay I saw something else – humiliation.

"He probably just had a rough day in school," I didn't know what to say or do. Mrs. Ichijouji looked at me fiercely, and I bit my lip.

"Goodbye," I said finally. She didn't reply, and I turned quickly and walked back home.

What... just happened there?

It was only my second day interacting with the Ichijoujis, the perfect, model family with the perfect parents and the perfect son... but I was already beginning to feel that they weren't everything they appeared to be.

**TBC**

**What set Ken off? Why was he so snappy to his Mum? Review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Four

**Yay! An update!**

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The New Neighbours  
Chapter Four

* * *

The next two days after the memorable incident with Mrs. Ichijouji passed rather uneventfully. There was school, as usual, taking up the majority of my time – I had a history test to cram for. Except in class, I hardly saw Ken in school or around the neighbourhood. It was weird how we hardly seemed to bump into any of the Ichijoujis, despite living next door to them and me going to the same school as Ken. I _had_ ran into Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji one evening downstairs and we had exchanged greetings, albeit a little stiff on their part – I supposed the incident was fresh in their minds, as well.

We had asked Ken if he wanted to join us for break again on Tuesday, but he had politely declined and I had no idea where he went during recess. At the back of my mind, the incident still bugged me, but Ken was right – it was his family's own private affairs, none of my business at all.

Lessons on Thursday ended late, mainly due to the fact that the history test took up some extra time. I grabbed a hasty lunch with the usual gang before bidding them goodbye – I had a Photography Club meeting that day.

Checking my watch as I took the steps two at a time, I saw that I was already ten minutes late – darn! I hadn't gone for the past two meetings due to conflicting schedules and I didn't want to miss this one. Breaking into a half-run, I hurried into the brightly lit room specially assigned for the Club's meetings, muttering a hurried apology to the teacher-in-charge, Ms. Suzuki. I took a seat at the front row, trying to catch my breathe.

"Now, I was just about to share some exciting news with the Club," Ms. Suzuki said cheerfully, gazing around the room. I loved the Photography room – it was airy and well-lit, the walls painted a cheerful apple green, with many of the past students' best works pinned on them. There was a locked cupboard at the back of the room where supplies were kept, and three rows of tables and chairs for use during meetings. Instead of a whiteboard at the front, there was a large slides-show projector, often used for flashing pictures or tips during trainings.

The Photography Club wasn't too big – there were only about twenty members in it. I glanced quickly around – there were only about eleven people here today – and then my gaze fell on a familiar-looking somebody sitting at the corner of the front row. On closer look, I realized who it was – _Ken! _What was he doing here? I remembered him saying something about wanting to try out new activities instead of sticking to soccer… well, it seemed like he had made a pretty wise choice, if I say so myself! He glanced up, saw me looking and I grinned at him. He returned my greeting with a nod of the head.

"… annual Contest," Ms. Suzuki was saying, and I turned my attention back to her at once. "Once a year, our school holds a Photography Contest that is open to the entire student population. A theme is given, and contestants submit a photograph that they feel is relevant to the theme, along with a short write-up on why they feel that way. This year, however, we've decided to change the format of the contest to make things more interesting."

I sat up, feeling a surge of excitement. I had heard about the annual Photography Contest in the school, and even though I had been in Junior High for two years already, I had never gotten around to taking part. Well, this year was my last chance… I was definitely going to try out for this one!

"For this year's competition," Ms. Suzuki continued with infectious enthusiasm, "Contestants will take part in pairs or groups of threes. Together, the pairs or groups will have to collate together a scrapbook of photographs – a minimum of ten and maximum of twenty photos – based on a provided theme. Doing a write-up is optional; what is essential is that the photographs all relate to one another and to the theme as well."

_Wow_. They had certainly tweaked the format this year… but I loved the sound of it. It sounded like a really cool project!

"The competition will end three months from now and will, as usual, be open to the entire school. You guys can take part in it too, of course. We'll be putting up posters next Monday and the details of the prizes will be included in there, too."

Ms. Suzuki glanced around the room, which was by now positively buzzing with excitement. I was already wondering who I could buddy up with. I didn't know many people in Photography Club – given that it was quite an on/off school activity. Attendance was not mandatory and you could join or leave the club anytime you want, or simply attend training sessions and not the meetings. I thought about my group of close friends – Daisuke, Takeru and Miyako. The boys were busy with basketball season, and Miyako had once made it clear to me that photography was _not _her thing… I supposed that I would have to ask around. No mean feat – this was one Contest that I absolutely was _not _going to miss out on!

"Any questions?" Ms. Suzuki asked, and a guy that I vaguely recognized as two years my junior raised his hand at once.

"Yes, Katsuo?"

"When will we know the theme of the project?" He asked.

"Ah, that'll be included in the posters on Monday, too," Ms. Suzuki replied, beaming all around. "Now, those who have questions, feel free to ask me – for the rest of you, you're now free to discuss and maybe even start forming your own groups!"

The sound of chairs scraping echoed around the room as everybody got up from their seats and began to mingle. I looked around quickly and couldn't help noticing that Ken was hovering in a corner, looking a little awkward. It was unlikely that he knew anybody here, given that he hadn't even been in the school for a week. Heck, I had been in the Club for so much longer and it wasn't like I was much better… I made my way over to him and he looked quite relieved to see me. He certainly looked much more approachable today – quite a refreshing change from Monday, really.

"Hey Ken," I greeted him happily – the prospect of the Contest had effectively put me in a _really _good mood. "So I see that you've decided to try out Photography?"

Ken nodded. "It sounds quite interesting. The competition sounds pretty fun, too." He gestured in the general direction of our teacher – a gaggle of students now surrounded her, full of questions. "Are you going to take part?"

"Yeah!" I said enthusiastically. "I missed the past two Contests and this year's my last chance. I'm definitely going for this one! It sounds so cool – the whole scrapbook part especially. I can't wait to get started!"

Ken smiled. I had already noticed that he didn't smile much, but when he did, he looked really good, in a sweet and friendly way. "You seem really passionate about Photography."

"Yeah, I am," I nodded eagerly. "I saved up for ages for my camera, but it's worth every cent. I just love capturing the images around me – it's the best form of keepsake there is, and the best way to preserve memories, you know? I think every photograph has a story to tell – I'm always so fascinated by those old black-and-white photographs and what the stories behind them are…"

I stopped in mid-rant, realizing that I just might be babbling too much. Get me on the topic of my favourite hobby and I would go off, in Daisuke's words, "with the speed of an electric train – even worse than Miyako". "Sorry… I've been babbling," I said sheepishly. "It's just that with Photography, I can't help but go on and on…"

"It's okay, no problem," Ken answered, nodding. He was still smiling and looked much friendlier than I had ever seen him so far. "I think it's great that you're so passionate about something," he added quietly. "I can't say I've ever felt the same way about anything."

"What about soccer? Surely you're passionate about that?" I asked at once.

"That's… different." Ken trailed off slowly, his gaze shifting toward the open window.

A short silence fell between us but this time round, it didn't feel all that awkward. I couldn't help wondering what he had meant by those words but given what had happened previously when I had pried too much… I thought it better not to pursue the topic further.

"Are _you _going to take part in the Contest?" I asked him.

Ken shrugged. "Maybe," he replied, turning back to face me. "I don't really know anyone around here yet, though."

"Oh," I stared at him for a minute, and then an idea sprang into my head. "I know! How about we buddy up for this Contest?"

To say that Ken looked surprised was an understatement… he looked positively amazed!

"Buddy up together?" He managed after a few seconds, still looking stunned, as though nobody had ever asked him anything of the sort before. "But… don't you have other people that you want to pair up with already?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Nah, none of my friends are all that interested in Photography and I hardly know anyone in this club. C'mon, it'll be fun!" I looked at him excitedly. "You'll get to learn more about Photography and what's more, we're neighbours – it'll be so much easier to work together!"

Ken seemed to contemplate this for a moment, his eyes thoughtful. I waited expectantly. The sudden idea seemed like a good one now – I could get to know my neighbour better through this, and I was tired of the rocky relationship my family appeared to have with the Ichijoujis. Besides, taking part in this might make Ken feel more welcomed in the school – talk about killing two birds with one stone!

"Alright, then," Ken said finally, his smile widening ever so slightly. He seemed so much happier today, somehow – it didn't really show in his expression, but there was a subtle difference in the way he was replying me now. He seemed a little more open and ready to reply.

"Great!" I cheered, clapping my hands together. "Oh, _wow_, I'm sooo excited. I can't wait for Monday to come already!"

He nodded in agreement and I stole a quick glance at my watch. It was nearly four, and I had to buy some groceries for my Mum. It was probably time to get going.

"I'm going off now," I told Ken. "Want to walk home together?"

"Nah, I've to go to the General Office to confirm my timetable and some stuff about settling in," Ken replied. "You go on ahead first."

"Alrighty!" I slung my bag over my shoulder and got ready to leave. "See you tomorrow, partner!"

Ken's eyes seemed to soften somewhat. "Yeah, see you. And…"

"Hmmm?"

I turned to look at him and our eyes met. There was pure sincerity in his voice as he said, "Thanks for asking me, Hikari."

**TBC**

**Not too much going on, but I'm getting excited about the project now. Boy do I feel like taking photos now!**

**It's past 3am and thunder's crashing outside. Creepy! Plus, I'm not a single bit sleepy. :| Anyways! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Thanks sooooo much to alienstarship, KoumiLoccness (Not exactly a constructive review but well, I'm glad you liked this), Bridgette Barrymore, SugarSpiral, BenignUser (I love long reviews!!), emotionless-robot, xoDaydreamer (When I type in the dot, your name doesn't show up. :( Anyway, hey from the forum!!) , PrincessJaded, smile-in-ur-sleep and KOI Seracus for reviewing!**

**Also I'd like to specially thanks SugarSpiral for motivating me (with threats and a thread, hee hee) to continue with this story when I was losing inspiration! :D**


	5. Five

**YAY! An update after a month! I'm sorry that this is a teensy bit short - I promise the next one will be nice and long! Hope you guys enjoy this one!**

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The New Neighbours  
Chapter Five

* * *

Wanting to go to school early on a Monday? Taichi was absolutely certain that I had gone out of my mind, but I was too excited to respond to his usual, lame teasing. Years of experience had allowed me to be well-versed in the art of Tuning Out.

In fact, I found the walk to school, so much more peaceful and quiet than usual, to be a rather pleasant experience – even more so the quiet hallways and corridors of the school, still devoid of students rushing to their respective classes. As soon as I stepped into the school grounds, I made my way to my destination, the reason why I had even bothered to come so early in the first place – the Photography Club notice board.

My steps quickened as I climbed the stairs to the second floor. The notice board was located right at the end of the second level's corridor, right next to the school library. It was completely deserted. The library wasn't even open this early! I practically ran to the board, feeling a little breathless with excitement.

Taichi, Takeru and my other friends had been highly amused about how excited I was about this competition. So maybe I had gotten over-enthusiastic telling them about it, complete with wild hand gesticulations and too-fast speeches. But I couldn't help my enthusiasm – photography was my passion and the idea of the competition itself was enough to get me revved up! And now, knowing that the details were just steps away from me, that starting from today I would be wrapped up in this for the next three months… I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so passionate about something_._

Funnily enough, I hadn't actually spoken to my partner since Thursday. But it was cool – we would probably have a chat later and get our plans rolling today.

I stepped right in front of the board – the poster was so large, it was impossible to miss. It took up half the board, and was glossy and bright and colourful – it looked great! The words "ODAIBA HIGH'S ANNUAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITON" were printed at the top of the sheet in yellow bubblegum letters, and tiny versions of past years' winning entries served as decoration. I leaned closer and began to read.

There was a short paragraph on what the competition entailed. I skimmed through that, seeing how Ms. Suzuki had already gone through that with us on Thursday. Instead, I skipped through to the most important part…

::**::

THE THEME THAT HAS BEEN CHOSEN FOR THIS YEAR'S COMPETITION IS NONE OTHER THAN…

**LIBERATION**

::**::

"Liberation," I whispered to myself, half-formed thoughts and ideas racing through my head as I took in the meaning of that one word. Well, I would have to discuss this with Ken later. Pushing my ideas to the back of my mind, I started to read the section devoted to explaining what the prizes were.

::**::

First Prize (one entry): Stands to win **70, 000 YEN **and for your entry to be displayed at the **National Youth Museum**

Second prize (one entry): **40, 000 YEN **and **20, 000 YEN's **worthof **CANON vouchers**

Third prize (one entry): **30, 000 YEN **and **10, 000 YEN's **worthof **CANON vouchers**

Consolation prize (five entries): Five sets of **iPod nanos** (depending on the number of members in the groups) to be given away!

::**::

They all looked very attractive – my heart leapt when I saw the second bit of the first prize. A display at the Museum? That was so unbelievably cool!

I read through the poster once more, then checked my watch. Half an hour to go before lessons started – I was indeed really early! I slowly made my way to my classroom, hoping that Ken would be early today too so we could have a bit of discussion before lessons begun.

* * *

As fate would have it, Ken didn't turn up in school at all.

To say that I was disappointed was an understatement. I was fully aware that it wasn't his fault for being absent, but I had just been looking so forward to start the planning with him! I stared miserably at the empty seat in front of mine. Of all days to be absent… he had to pick today.

Well, at least we were neighbours. Our teacher had given me Ken's stack of homework for the day (Monday was typically homework day, and my bag felt rather heavy when school was over) to pass to him, and being neighbours, I had all the time and convenience to update him whenever it was possible.

After the usual routine of a quick snack and shower after I got home from school, I grabbed Ken's homework and headed over next door. I rang the doorbell and waited, feeling slightly apprehensive. I still felt uneasy around Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji, and I half-wished that it would be Ken who answered the door.

"Hikari?"

I looked up to see Mrs. Ichijouji standing behind the gate, looking rather surprised to see me. For once, she wasn't immaculately dressed, but looked homely and in fact, rather motherly – an aspect of her that I had yet to see so far. She was clad in a plain blue shirt and beige pants, with a colourful apron thrown over the simple outfit. It looked as though she had just begun to prepare dinner.

"Hello, Mrs. Ichijouji," I bowed politely, then held up the stack of notes. "I'm here to bring Ken his homework, and to update him about what happened in school today."

"Oh, thank you," Mrs. Ichijouji replied at once, a slow smile spreading across her face as she gazed at me. I couldn't help feeling slightly thrown off as the smile grew into a full-out beam – since when was she so friendly? Weird or not, it was a good change though, and I allowed myself to be led to Ken's room without any further questions.

With the door left conspicuously open, Mrs. Ichijouji headed off to make dinner and I walked into the room, feeling a little awkward. Ken was sitting by his table, looking fit and healthy and wide awake – I hadn't expected that, seeing how I had assumed that he hadn't gone to school because he was sick. I walked over to him and handed him his homework.

"Your Mum seems like she's in a really good mood today," I remarked, sitting down on a nearby chair that Ken had gestured me to.

"Yeah, she's always happy whenever somebody comes to visit me," Ken sighed in response, his gaze fixed on his laptop screen. "She thinks that I don't have enough friends."

"Oh, I see," Uncertain about what to reply, I gazed at the back of his head for a minute. He didn't turn around, and I groped around for something to say. "So why didn't you come to school today?"

Ken gestured to his laptop. "I had to work on my design for the Youth's Mechanics Competition that I'm taking part in. It's a Nationwide Competition and we've got two months to design the most functional robot we can come up with."

"Wow, that sounds really cool!" I exclaimed, stunned. Building robots... I had always thought you would need at least a degree in Engineering or something. But I had meant what I said. It sounded really cool and exciting…

Not to mention difficult. And time-consuming.

"You know," I said tentatively, "The poster for the Photography Competition was put up today."

Ken turned to look at me now. "Oh yes, I'd forgotten it was today. What's the theme?"

"It's liberation!" I could feel the excitement bubbling up once again as I spoke. "It's quite a broad theme, but all the more fun to work with, don't you think so? I've got some ideas already, do you want to discuss them now? What do you think? I – " I stopped short in mid-sentence as Ken held up his hands, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Hikari, but I'm… kinda busy now. I've got to get the first draft of my design out by tonight." Ken did look genuinely sorry. "Look… how about we discuss this after school tomorrow? We'll get something out by then, I promise."

"Oh… right," I said, feeling slightly sheepish. "I'm sorry. So... I guess I better be going now."

Ken nodded. "Goodbye."

As I lay on my bed twenty minutes later, I couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of unease. This Photography Competition really meant a lot to me. I was prepared to give my all for the next three months just for it. But it hadn't occurred to me that my partner wouldn't feel the same way. Ken seemed really busy now, and I must've been stupid for not realizing – he was, after all, a prodigy teenager and would most definitely be involved in other competitions and activities. Who could blame him?

I sighed and rolled over, nearly falling off the bed in the process. I could only hope that everything would work itself out.

**TBC**

**:D Please review!!**

**I don't know if a National Youth Museum exists in Japan, so yeah. As for the prize money, I converted it from my country's exchange rate (S$) using amounts that seemed plausible for winning competitions.**

**Thanks so so so much to all my reviewers for chapter 4: SugarSpiral, PrincessJaded, fairytaled, dracula-key, emotionless-robot, DestinyInterwined (but... this isn't KENOC. It's Kenkari.), Bridgette Barrymore, KoumiLocness, BenignUser and Hiei's Kage. :D You guys are great! I didn't count GoggleMaster01, because his "review" was crap. You want to revive season 01 and 02, sure - do as you please. But can I just say that leaving mass reviews, without even bothering to read the stories and say anything about it (you do know what a review is for, right?) is plain stupid.**


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